This invention relates to a system for validating UPC (Universal Product Code) or TRI-BAR coded indicia used on packaging or the like to identify products and provide information concerning said products.
It is well known that systems have been developed to scan the above mentioned indicia and such systems have found acceptance in the supermarket industry.
Such UPC indicia is currently scanned by a device at the check-out stations in a supermarket or the like and the information detected from the indicia is fed to a computer which then generates the price to be charged to the customer for each item.
In addition to UPC indicia detection systems, a TRI-BAR indicia scanning system has also been developed (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,831). TRI-BAR coded indicia as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,831 is primarily intended for use where the indicia is applied by the retailer rather than the manufacturer of the goods since UPC codes are somewhat difficult to apply to goods.
Inasmuch as those supermarkets which utilize TRI-BAR indicia on some packaging will also be utilizing UPC indicia on other packaging, any checkout reading and decoding system must be capable of accurately detecting both types of indicia and validating that either one or the other type of indicia has been detected.
In particular, for the proper control of data into the computer from the respective indicia, a validator system was needed to locate the start code of either the UPC or TRI-BAR indicia, check the tolerances of the black-white band pairs of the indicia with respect to the type of start code detected, check the end stop codes as appropriate to the type of start code detected and also signal a storage system to store the data representing the indicia being read in the event it is determined that the data is valid. The present validator system provides such a system for accomplishing the aforementioned functions.